What isn’t “shoppable” these days? At the Cynopsis ScreenShift conference October 14 in NYC, panelists will discuss the promise – and ways to fulfill that promise – of “shoppable TV.” Among them, Sal Candela, VP, Global Agency Partnerships at Roku, shared some initial thoughts he shared in advance:
What do brand marketers need to consider when thinking aiming to maximize shoppable?
Shoppable TV presents an exciting opportunity to evolve TV from a brand awareness driver into a full-funnel performance channel. The biggest question for marketers today is how to create a seamless shoppable experience that preserves the joy of streaming. According to a recent study we conducted with Dentsu around how consumers engage with shoppable TV, we found that nearly half of all streamers would pay attention to ads that allow them to purchase items featured in movies, shows, or live events – particularly when the shopping experience feels like a natural extension of the content. For marketers, the takeaway is clear: the more integrated and contextually relevant the shoppable moment, the more likely it is to drive engagement and conversion.
How has the evolution of shoppable and the state of the industry/media marketplace changed your role or how you advise clients?
As marketing dollars face increased scrutiny, our focus at Roku is on making shoppable TV as impactful as possible to ensure our partners are getting the most out of their budgets. From targeting to measurement, shoppable TV is only going to get more impactful as it continues to pair with retail media. For example, we work with numerous retail media partners, like Instacart, Walmart Connect, Best Buy Ads, Kroger Precision Marketing, and DICK’s Media to allow brands to pair first-party in-store data with streaming data at scale.
How do you think your panel might impact attendees?
I expect attendees will leave our panel inspired to launch their own shoppable campaigns for their brands or clients. We’re still in the early days of shoppable TV. For consumers to truly embrace the experience and turn it into a scalable shopping platform, we need more advertisers to start launching campaigns and help us define best practices for the space.
